CAA/WTS/CPT/Flight Schools - Reference Thread

[COOKIEMAN]

CALIFORNIA FLYERS Additional information. For 30 years, I have been researching and collecting badges, patches, wings and photos of all phases of Army Air Forces Training during WW2. Always looking for new info, so I found the previous posts about the California Flyers very interesting. Once I gather enough information, I have been documenting it in book form. (don't ask, at the rate I am going it will probably never be published).

 

Attached is my information on the California Flyers. Enjoy

 

PS: If you have any additional info about the California Flyers, I can use it for my project.

[ocsfollowme]

Very excited to add this Disney patch to my collection. Seldom seen and only on twill.

313th Victory Field AAF

317th was at Victory but 313th was at Fort Stockton Field. Trying to research it more. So tough to find this one.

https://en.wikipedia...chool_Airfields

[pfrost]

very nice

[COOKIEMAN]

313th AAFFTD versus 317th AAFFTD. Thanks for sharing your 313th AAFFTD patch. In your research, Wikipedia has struck again. They have it wrong, appears they switched the numbers. My source is, Station List, Gulf Coast Army Air Forces Training Center, Randolph Field, Texas, dated November 1, 1942.

 

The document definitely has the 313th AAFFTD located at Victory Field, Vernon, Texas. Also places the 317th AAFTD at Curtis Field, Brady, Texas.

 

Extracts from my unpublished book follow.

 

More to come in following postings.

 

 

 

 

[COOKIEMAN]

317th AAF FTD

[militbuff]

I picked this booklet (The Fledgling) up recently from ebay. Its from the 65th College Training Detachment (CTD) at Syracuse University. The Seneca Flying School around Syracuse was in charge of giving the men basic flight training. My dad spent a number of months as part of the 65th CTD until they booted him and 90% of the other cadets out because they needed more air crew members.

 

Has anyone ever seen a patch from the 65th CTD?

 

More photos

 

Cool pics of flight gear, t-shirts and plane with Seneca Flying logo on it.

[pfrost]

Part 2

 

That first wing with the V on it--I have one of those from an instructor grouping. I will have to add that to my information, as I hadn't been able to figure out who it belonged to and what school he served with. My recollection was that he was an instructor for one of the American BFTS schools and then was a pilot for Eastern Airlines.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

P

[pfrost]

This is rather exciting as I have been struggling to ID this wing badge for ages.

 

I thought it was for a commercial airlines, like Varney or something like that.

 

Mine is hallmarked with the Russell Uniform Company of New York.

 

 

[rustywings]

This is rather exciting as I have been struggling to ID this wing badge for ages.

 

I thought it was for a commercial airlines, like Varney or something like that.

 

Mine is hallmarked with the Russell Uniform Company of New York.

 

 

 

Excellent exchange of information and illustrations Gents! Let me throw a couple of more tidbits in the direction of Cookieman and Patrick for their consideration...

 

I recently picked up a 1943 dated "Civilian Instructors" classbook which lists all of the contract flight instructors and ground instructors employed at Victory Field, Vernon, Texas. The classbook has hundreds of images of instructors in their uniforms with many depicting their cap pieces and wings. But none of those insignia appear to be like the gilt "V" wings Patrick posted above.

 

Rather than the alphabet letter "V" for Victory Field, I suspect the "V" may represent the roman-numeral "5"... and believe it might be in reference to #5 British Flight Training School in Clewiston, Florida. The #5 B.F.T.S. Museum website does have a somewhat blurry image posted of a British Flying Cadet Graduate who is identified as later being a Flight Instructor and wearing a similar shaped wing on his visor. Could this be a match?

 

[ocsfollowme]

I am glad that this thread is getting some new life into it! The "C/I" was a question that I had but now I take it to stand for Civilian Instructors.

[pfrost]

Hey Russ, You ask a good question. This was the other wing that came with the grouping. I had once seen a copy of Cookieman's book (he showed a draft copy to me at one of the ASMIC or GW shows many years ago). It had the BFTS wing in it, but I almost immediately forgot which of the schools it belonged to--Doh!.

 

I have been mucking around for years trying to figure this guy's story out. He was an instructor and then an Eastern Airlines pilot after the war. I have some of this insignia and various and sundry stuff... EXCEPT his name.

 

 

 

 

[rustywings]

I am glad that this thread is getting some new life into it! The "C/I" was a question that I had but now I take it to stand for Civilian Instructors.

.

 

 

Steve, I'm not certain if the "C/I" stands for Civilian Instructor or Contract Instructor? The title page of that class book is identical to the front cover, offering nothing more. The Bugs Bunny shoulder patch with the initials "AAFCPS" indeed stands for "Army Air Forces Contract Pilot School," so those same initials "C/I" on the patch could represent "Contract Instructor?"

 

I think CookieMan is the go-to guy for both you and Militbuff.

 

Patrick, that's a terrific BFTS embroidered Flight Instructor's wing! It's neat that each of the seven BFTS Fields had different owners with very different ideas on flight school logos and patriotic symbolism...

[COOKIEMAN]

My opinion on a couple of comments above. As for C/I, I believe Civilian Instructor would be the correct title. One thought is the schools were under contract to the AAF, not the pilots. They were employed by the school. There are many sources such as class books, insignia, photos etc. The term Civilian Pilot is prevalent in most of them.

 

The "V" is most definitely for Victory. Check out the patch below. V for Victory, even has the Morse code for V ...._

[COOKIEMAN]

Some comments about the BFTS wing. Following pictures are of the two varieties I am aware of; Sew on and pin on.

 

I have this wing attributed to the No 6 BFTS / 323rd AAF FTD, Darr School of Aeronautics, Ponca City, Oklahoma. This is a tentative assignment of the wing. I came to this conclusion threw a process of elimination. There were 7 BFTSs.

I have wings and insignia attributed to the other six and have not seen this wing in any reference to them.

 

If you have more information about the wing please share it with us.

[COOKIEMAN]

DALE AERO FLIGHT ACADEMY, USAAF CONTRACT FLYING SCHOOL

 

I have had this patch for over 35 years without a positive ID.

 

Any info you might have would be helpful.

[pfrost]

One thing I have noticed is that there was a change over time in some of the contract flight schools in the uniforms and insignia that the instructors and other staff wore. I'll have to spend some time illustrating this, but I have year books for one school that spans most of WWII. The early year book show the instructors wearing a mix of insignia and wings/cap badges, more in line with the individual school (so 42-early to mid 43 classes) you see very little uniformity.

 

Then towards the later stages of the war (late 43-45), the instructors are seen to exclusively starting to wear the traditional "eagle headed" insignia for civilian instructors. So I suspect that we have to kind of be aware of what was happening as the war progressed in these schools.

 

Then some of these school remained active for various amounts of time after the war. They may have switched away from the war time insignia and gone to something else.

 

P

[BBG]

Is this one good? I've seen a few that look some what similar.

 

[pfrost]

Yes. I think it's good.

[BBG]

Thanks Patrick.

[pfrost]

I think these are for the 311 flight training detachment (or one of the similar groups) operated by the Missouri Institute of Aeronautic out of Harvey Parks Airport. These patches show up with 311th on them and without (like yours). IRCC, about 15-20 years ago, a batch of these patches started showing up on Ebay as new/old stock. So they were being sold around 50-100$ or so. I haven't seen one in ages since then.

 

Im not sure I have seen one with the instructor label on it, but Russ would probably have one if anyone does. That is a great patch!

 

I bought mine as part of a collection of patches stuck on an old piece of cardboard. Sadly, the moths had been doing some nibbling on them.

 

P

[ocsfollowme]

Several schools used that style.

 

Here is a posting that I had in my Home Front thread. There is another thread on the forum that someone thought that this style was with FTD that trained British pilots. Not sure, but what I can say is that the seller that I purchased mine below had a bunch of insignia and paperwork from the 73rd.

 

I picked up this flight instructor. It could possibly go with a lot of AAFFTD flight training detachments but this seller on ebay had three of these flight instructors along with these two other patches. The seller got these at an estate auction so I will attribute everything to the 73rd FTD. The seller does not deal in militaria items.

[pfrost]

I concur, I suspect they were used for a variety of different schools or detachments.

[militbuff]

Here are 3 patches I just acquired.

[COOKIEMAN]

More on the RAF Roundel type AAF FTD patches. A little background. I have been collecting and researching ACTD / AAF TTD / AAF PS patches, badges and wings since mid-1978. When I started out I knew absolutely nothing about AAF WW2 Pilot Training Program. Over the last 40 years I have been very fortunate to accumulate patches and information about the Contract Pilot Schools.

 

Following several patches from six schools that look like RAF aircraft Insignia. Five of these schools were owned and operated by Oliver Parks. The 6th school was owned by Southern Air Service. I believe the generic Flight Instructor patches were worn by personnel and all six schools. It is possible it was worn by other schools, but have no Information confirming this.

 

First two patches are;

 

FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR

 

51-FTD

 

Next three patches are:

 

62-FTD

73-FTD

 

73-FTD FLIGHT INST.

 

3rd set of patches are;

 

309-FTD

 

309-FTD FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR

 

Four pair

 

311-FTD on twill

 

311-FTD on wool felt

 

Last patch

 

69TH AAF FTD FLETCHER FIELD

[pfrost]

Those are great. thanks for posting them